Prickly Pear Tequila

As exotic as they are dangerous, the fruit of the nopales cactus (cacti with beaver tail-like paddles), are actually quite delicious. These “prickly pears” contain a dark red neon fruit with a refreshing juice that tastes like a desert oasis. Many Mexican markets, farmers markets, and some natural food supermarkets carry prickly pears, but you can easily find these cacti growing wild in hills throughout the Southwest, especially California and Mexico. But fair warning, when harvesting prickly pears in the wild, be sure to handle with care and wear heavy leather work gloves to protect yourself from the tiny hair-thin thorns that cover the fruit. You’ll want to scrub the fruit hard under running water to remove all the painful barbs before using in any recipe. Hint: the fruit in markets come pre-cleaned so there is no fear of getting poked.